Latest news Marche Blanche in Bulle FR after homicide in the canton of Fribourg
Following the femicide in Epagny FR, a "Marche Blanche" with around 350 people took place in Bulle on Friday. The participants in the rally called for "real means" to combat sexist and sexual violence.
18.04.2025, 12:43
SDA
The demonstration left the entrance to the Bouleyres stadium at 10.00 a.m. and marched through the moat to the market square. The solidarity march was organized by Marie-Ange Castella, a soon-to-be 39-year-old mother who lives in Gruyère. She herself had been a victim of domestic violence in the past. She wanted to express her grief and solidarity with the march, the organizer told the newspaper "La Liberté" in the run-up to the event.
Castella also wants to denounce a system that does not work or does not work in all cases," she told the Fribourg daily. A system that "must take victims seriously". Castella has been living under a protection order against her ex-partner since 2021.
According to Castella, she has noticed that these restraining orders are not actually enforced. Around 300 participants at a rally in front of the Equilibre theater in Fribourg argued similarly on Wednesday evening.
Both the march in Bulle and the rally organized by the Collectif Grève féministe Fribourg were held in honour of the 39-year-old woman who was killed by her husband in Epagny. The woman was the mother of four children aged between 13 and 20. The couple, of Kosovan origin, were residents of the region.
Already 14 murders of women
According to the Geneva Collective, "at least 14 murders of women" were committed in Switzerland in 2025. That is almost one woman killed per week - an alarming rate, "twice as high as the average in recent years". The canton was investing too little in instruments to combat violence by men, it said.
"The authorities are not doing enough, everywhere in Switzerland," said Aude Spang, a member of the collective, on Wednesday. The necessary places, personnel and resources are lacking. For example, the measures taken by the Fribourg justice system did not protect the woman who was shot dead on April 10.
On that day, the husband of the woman killed in Epagny appeared with a gun at his wife's workplace, where she was doing housework. After entering the house, the 41-year-old shot his wife four times before turning the gun on himself.
Man was imprisoned
The man had been imprisoned from September 18 to December 5, 2024 as part of a domestic violence case before being released on conditions. These included a ban on approach and contact, therapeutic support to deal with the violence and probation support.
During a confrontation between the couple in court on December 2, the woman had recanted aspects of sexual violence, according to the public prosecutor's office. She maintained the aspects of physical violence. As a result, she was released from custody. The details were announced at a press conference in Bulle on Saturday.
